Finding Answers
by fantasyfreak21
Summary: A/U Natsuki is a detective, but her current case is giving her a hard time. Through a misunderstanding, she meets the beautiful Shizuru, but Shizuru has a secret to hide. Will Natsuki be able to solve her case? Or will the mysterious Shizuru distract her?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The clouds above threatened to spill it's contents upon the scurrying people below. A fierce wind teased the bursting clouds, taunting them to move about as freely as it did. Even approaching thunder begged for the clouds to loose it's load upon the world far below them. Despite this, the determined clouds held on.

A motorcyclist directly beneath the struggling clouds was blissfully unaware of the threat looming above her. After all, the weather wouldn't change her mission one bit, and so she adamantly refused to acknowledge such secular concerns until completion of her current expedition. Besides, her destination was quickly coming into view.

A quick turn to her left took her down the alley behind the old, rundown movie theater. Trash littered the alleyway unattended, no one bothering to pay heed to such a mundane task. Besides, those who used the stretch of concrete rarely bothered with their own personal grooming.

The roaring of the motorcycle's engine faded into the quiet night air as the young woman reached a little known side entrance to the building. Climbing off the well cared for machinery, the woman took out a chain and lock too thick to snap with the normal tools used by thieves. Removing the dark helmet from her head, she brought a hand through hair exuding a brilliant midnight blue hue. With that done, she carried her helmet under one arm as she approached the door.

"Password?" The deep, scratchy voice heard through the small slit in the door was more of a statement than a question, but the motorcycle rider knew the proper response.

Her voice was low and somewhat husky as she replied, "Five hells of night." She couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at using the idiotic password, but since it wasn't up to her to decide such matters, she let the frustration go.

Loud metallic clinking was followed by a briskly opened door, the man behind it just as boring as she always found him. A large, ugly scar running from one ear down his neck beyond the covering of a black muscle shirt was the only physical aspect to separate him from all the other meat heads used to keep peace around the place. Well, that and the fact that he was the only one able to walk about safely without a weapon.

"Evenin' miss," was all he said as the girl walked past him with a nod of acknowledgment. She couldn't help but sigh at the amount of people she found in the club on this particular night. The more thugs about, the less likely she would be able to glean new information. On the other hand, her usual correspondent normally obtained just enough information to get her by.

She made her way to the bar, determined not to be stopped before she had a chance to talk to her correspondent. It was easy enough to maneuver around the drunken idiots, especially when she spotted her empty stool waiting for her. It had taken several nights of pointless fights to establish her dominance over the particular corner, but soon her efforts paid off. No one she didn't want there dared to step on her domain.

The bartender was wise enough to have her usual waiting for her, which she thanked him for with a slight upraising of her lips. The action seemed to leave more of an impression of a slight, knowing smirk, but the point was made. With that done, she took a small sip from the drink, a pleasant sensation coursing throughout her body. It seemed to be just the release her body had been waiting for all day because she immediately felt her muscles relax noticeably.

A tan, over sized envelope was slide in front of her. "Anything new?" She asked the man she knew to be sitting in the seat next to her. After all, they had been through this routine often enough to have no need wasting words on small talk.

It was with a heavy sigh the man said, "Look, Natsuki, I understand your determination in this, but don't you-" He was cut off by a dark glare, his companion not caring to hear anything outside of the information she wanted. So he gave up and instead continued with, "The usual, nothing particularly interesting. My sources were especially fervent in their efforts to prove themselves trustworthy after last month's incident, but nothing has come up. I'm sorry."

Natsuki released the air she didn't realize she had been holding. Another dead end. "Thank you, Sakomizu. Same time next Friday." The reply came out colder than she had meant it to, but she was too frustrated to contain herself. She grabbed the envelope abruptly and left the bar.

"Goodbye miss," the doorman's reply followed Natsuki's hurried exit, her mind barely registering the words before the door was closed behind her. Outside once again, it appeared the clouds had finely relented because a fierce down pouring of rain was ready to to soak the leather clad woman completely.

Starring into the sky with it's moisture hitting her face, Natsuki took pleasure in the way the weather could display her emotions so easily. Whenever her heart ached, the heavens sent a gift of recognition, allowing the whole world to participate in her foul mood. 'Mother, is it you sending me the rain? Only you could know my pain. . .' her thoughts drifted off when she realized a new comer was intruding on her private moment.

Her helmet was roughly pulled onto her head after she gave the leering man one of her most vicious glares. She waited until the disgusting man entered the building before she unzipped her biker suit enough to sneak her newly acquired envelope between the heat of her body and the protection of the leather.

As expected, her bike was exactly the way she had left: leaning on it's kick stand with all it's dark beauty. The lock and chains were quickly removed and stored away for later use before Natsuki climbed onto her precious vehicle.

She took her time winding down the empty roads, her thoughts distracting her from any recognizable course. It had been three years since she had first began her work at what many consider a "shady" investigation center. Of course, the off hand tactics used to acquire the necessary information were right up her alley. In fact, her precision with a gun had earned her enough of a reputation where she was assigned the most difficult of the tasks. Therefore, she usually received the highest income out of all the employees.

This particular mission she had been given was especially high paying, but possibly the hardest she had yet to face. A man had come into the run-down shop looking as if he owned the place. His story was an easy one to follow. His company was being threatened by the mysterious contents of his boss's will. Apparently, it held the distribution of the overall business's command, but before the will could be read, it had been stolen the very night the boss died. Now, he wanted the recovery of will before the end of the year, which happened to be a mere four months away. Of course, it was obvious to Natsuki that this man expected something for himself out of the will, but as long as he paid as much as he had offered on the table, she didn't give a rat's ass.

What should have been an easy recovery had turned into a month's effort of dead ends. Another month had followed with the only new information being the mysterious member's of the deceased boss's family. Call it intuition if you will, but Natsuki was sure the discovery of their identity would give her the break she needed. However, the information seemed to be lost because none of her sources were able to get any proper leads. It had all turned into a disastrous headache, one in which was increasing as her time decreased. Seven weeks left.

As quickly as the thoughts came, Natsuki vanished them to focus on the new road she found herself on. It was still in the shady parts of downtown, which she previously had felt she was very familiar with, but as she looked around her, she came to the conclusion that this section was utterly new to her. Dark buildings loomed above her, the only light source coming from the occasional working street lamp, all of which had acquired a flicker.

If Natsuki hadn't slowed down so much to observe her surroundings, she would have missed the singular figure. She spotted the figure in front of a building full of red lights, casting an eery glow on the mysterious person. As she neared, Natsuki soon came to realize the figure was a shivering woman with a much too large raincoat draped across her shoulders.

A sudden feeling of compassion came over the usually distant biker. Coming to a stop in front of the lone woman, Natsuki looked around. She could see some cars parked at random along the road, but all seemed empty. Then she looked at the building she was stopped in front of, but the only lights on were those mysterious red lights on the top level.

With this in mind, she came to one conclusion. "Are you waiting for someone?" Her question came out a little muffled due to her helmet, but it wasn't to the point where one couldn't understand what was being said.

"Ara, ara, what an unusual way to put it," the other woman replied, her face still hard to make out with the shadows clinging to her. The musical, carefree tone of her voice took Natsuki aback slightly. She hadn't expected such composure from someone carelessly standing around in the rain. She had almost been certain the other woman would be very distraught.

"Er, look, do you want a ride or not?" Natsuki asked, always the type to get straight to the point. She hadn't meant for the question to sound so, well, gruff. She just hoped the woman wouldn't make her wait much longer before her sudden streak of compassion wore off.

Although Natsuki couldn't see it, she could almost feel the upraised eyebrow. "You're new to this, aren't you?" There was a pause, as if she expected a reply of some sort. When, she received none, she continued. "Where do you propose to take me?"

The question once again surprised the Natsuki. 'What's up with woman?' she thought to herself before saying out loud, "Home, of course." It seemed the most obvious answer, unless the woman was hoping to be dropped off somewhere else.

"Ara, ara, you are very straight forward, aren't you?" the woman said, an unmistakable tease in her voice. She paused, as if contemplating, then said, "Ok, whisk me away."

Finally, a reply that didn't send Natsuki into a fit of confusion. From a compartment in the back of her bike, she pulled out another helmet she carried around in case of an emergency. She handed the black, simple helmet to the woman, stiffening when she felt gentle hands slide down her sides to be clasped in front of her stomach.

They stayed in that position for some time, Natsuki waiting for the other woman to supply some much needed information. When nothing came, she decided to take the initiative. "So, ah, where do you live?"

Musical laughter floated above the rain to caress Natsuki's ears. "Why, here, of course," the woman's reply came from behind, causing Natsuki to frown. What the hell was that suppose to mean? Then something seemed to click in her head: she's probably homeless. That was why the woman hadn't cared that she was getting soaked in the rain! And why her coat was too big for her. It even explained the ridiculous responses she had been getting.

A fierce swelling of pity rose in her heart, nearly making her choke. It was then she decided that she was going to help this woman, even if it was only to provide shelter for one night. Yes, it's true that she had never done anything so rash before in her life, but something was different this time. _She _was different this time.

As Natsuki took off from the side of the street, she yelled over the roar of the engine and the screaming of the winds, "Hey, what's your name?"

A small pause before a soft answer was returned just behind her covered ear, "Shizuru." 'Shizuru...' Natsuki repeated the name in her head, making sure to place it to memory. With a nod to let Shizuru know that she had heard and understood, Natsuki pushed the bike faster.

A/N: Alright, so this is my first shot at shiz/nats fanfiction. Let me know what you think, even if it's just a quick review to tell me it was "good" or "sucked". Depending on my reviews, I'll continue posting this story : ) Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The clouds above threatened to spill it's contents upon the scurrying people below. A fierce wind teased the bursting clouds, taunting them to move about as freely as it did. Even approaching thunder begged for the clouds to loose it's load upon the world far below them. Despite this, the determined clouds held on. At least, that was what she assumed took place as she gazed upon the sky above her.

Shizuru sighed as she reclined on the window's seat cushion, watching the storms' efforts above her. Other young girls lounged about the room with her, some finding entertainment in books, games, gossip, or whatever it was they could find. Only a couple more hours and they would be opened for business.

A tall, elegant woman well into her forties came gliding into the room. Her ridiculously red dress clung to her upper body like a second skin before it fell away in loose skirt-like gathering of cloth where it trailed slightly along the floor behind her. Her hair was done up in a complex pattern, some of the blonde hair falling to frame her face in places. She was very well endowed with her womanly attributes, which she gladly displayed in her unnecessarily low cut dress.

As the woman stepped through the entrance, she clapped her hands enthusiastically to gain her audience's attention. "Now, now, girls, look alive! You've had plenty of time to get ready!" The girls she addressed slowly got to their feet, putting away their items in various places. Shizuru, on the other hand, remained in place, her eyes caught up in the world outside her little window.

Of course, someone took notice of Shizuru's inattentiveness. "Oh Viola my darling, wont you come here?" The obvious leader among the women called, her cheerful voice drifting across the room.

It took several long moments for Shizuru to realize that she had been addressed. The name she had given these women a mere few months ago was still foreign to her unconscious mind. By the time it did register, many of the other girls had paused to gaze at her curiously. Calmly, Shizuru stood and walked to the older woman. "Yes, Keiko?" she answered.

Keiko smiled at her. "Ah, yes, much easier to talk to you now." She turned from Shizuru to address the entire room of women. "Now remind me who has outside duty tonight? I can't seem to recall myself."

Most of the girls were quick to inform her that it wasn't their turn. Nobody wanted outside duty, although they all would eventually be stuck with it when their turn came around, but on a stormy night like this one? It would be crazy to want to do so.

One of the girls pipped up from the back, a little hesitant in her reply. "Um, Keiko, I do believe it's Viola's turn." Everyone else nodded fervently. They didn't care who it was as long as it wasn't them.

"Thank you, my dear," Keiko said before she turned to face Shirzuru once more. "Well, I'm sorry Viola, but you know the rules. Everyone must take a turn. It is rather unfortunate that it has to be your turn on such a night, but someone must do it. It'll relieve you to know that I have received a new raincoat in which you are to use tonight. That should keep you dry for the most part."

Shizuru kept her pleasant smile on, nodding her head in acknowledgment before she exited the room. Inside, she was furious that it must be her doing the hard work on this night, but she wasn't about to let such an emotion slip past her well polished mask. She would survive the night to live another day. 'Only to repeat this again tomorrow,' she thought to herself, a sudden wave of depression sweeping over her. It caused her to pause in her draping the coat along her shoulders. Of course, she swept that emotion away quickly.

Outside, the moment she opened the door, a gust of icy wind ruffled the skirt she had been told to wear. Keiko supplied her ladies with the most proper clothing she could get, which in Shizuru's case consisted of a silky black miniskirt with a bright pink halter top and heels to match. Although Shizuru wrapped the coat as close as she could around her shivering body, the wind was relentless in finding any means to touch her delicate skin.

The street was as dark and quiet as it normally was, which made Shizuru pause. Had it been this quiet when she had first arrived here? Yes, of course. It had been inside the building when things had gotten loud. She could almost hear the rhythmic beating drifting from the upstairs, women's voices uttering all sorts of foreign noises. She could feel her face beginning to flush as the memories came back.

Why had she put up with this for so long? Ah, that's right. It was all her selfish father's fault. He had left her all alone. No family was left to love her, to care for her. This was the only way she could get away from her old life. Her father had left her with no choice.

It wasn't until the humming of a motor drew closer that Shizuru took notice. She snapped back from her melancholy thoughts only to spot a figure on a motorcycle approach. She watched in interest as the person came to a steady stop directly in front of her. A motorcyclist? It was incredibly new and somewhat, exhilarating.

"Are you waiting for someone?" With a surge of surprise, Shizuru identified the voice as female. Low and husky, but definitely female. It wasn't until then that she noticed the way the biker's leather fitted a perfect body so well. Very noticeable, round breasts and shapely legs were a dead give away. Even the long, midnight waves of beautiful hair cascading down her back made it obvious.

Then Shizuru felt a smirk cross her lips. A woman, huh? How interesting. Very rarely could a woman be found around these parts unless she worked among the other women. Only once or twice had their been a woman looking for their services. This was about to get very interesting indeed.

"Ara, ara, what an unusual way to put it," she couldn't help but say. The fact that such an obviously attractive woman was looking for services lifted her spirits dramatically. She hadn't felt the urge to tease since, well, before her father's illness had been discovered.

"Er, look, do you want a ride or not?" the reply surprised her slightly. Did this woman not know services were to be performed inside the building only? Keiko had made it the number one rule. Too many people had run off with her girls or returned them damaged. Keiko could not have such things happen in her business.

It became obvious that this must be the poor woman's first time looking for company in such a place. The girl apparently didn't know any of the proper lingo, let alone Keiko's number one rule. "You're new to this, aren't you?" It was a simple question, but when no response was given, Shizuru decided to change subjects. "Where do you propose to take me?" What was it about this girl that brought out her sense of humor?

"Home, of course," the girl said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Perhaps she wasn't new to this after all. Maybe she came from a place where taking the woman back to her bedroom was normal. Most likely though, the girl was probably just too nervous to muster any technique.

"Ara, ara, you are very straight forward, aren't you?" This time, the teasing lilt to her voice was so plainly obvious, anyone would have been able to pick up on it. Shizuru was quickly finding that she was enjoying herself for the first time in months. Perhaps it was the innocence she detected from the biker that had her feeling comfortable enough to tease. She finally had the upper hand on someone.

It was then that she realized what she wanted to do most right now and that was accompany this woman. Shizuru wasn't normally the type to succumb to sudden urges, but this time was different. She didn't want the feeling she had to go away and if that meant taking the risk of going home with a stranger, she would take it. Besides, she knew for a fact that this woman wouldn't let harm come to her. "Ok, whisk me away," she said, nerves and excitement barely held back from the slight whisper.

She was handed a polished, black bike helmet, which she gladly put on. She watched the girl make room for her on the back of her bike before she gracefully sat down. With an unexpected urge, Shizuru allowed her fingers to gently glide along the girls sides and stomach before clasping her hands just below the girl's belly button. She had to suppress her giggles when she felt the cool biker stiffen.

"So, ah, where do you live?" The question came unexpected to a distracted Shizuru. Was the girl trying to make small talk? The thought made Shizuru laugh aloud. How adorable!

"Why, here, of course," Shizuru said, although it wasn't entirely true. She rented an apartment which she stayed at during the day, keeping her possessions stored safely. But this new girl didn't need to know about that. After all, they hadn't even officially met yet.

It seemed the girl was processing this in her mind because she made no immediate reply. It wasn't until moments later that she suddenly pushed off from the curb and began her trip down the street. The increase in winds caused Shizuru to press her body closer to the girls, hoping to gain any amount of warmth she could from the contact. Absently, she found herself enjoying this position.

"Hey, what's your name?" The girl in front of her yelled back, her voice unconcerned but interested at the same time. Shizuru found it almost childlike, almost as if the child was pretending to be older and more mature then she actually was.

"Shizuru," she said somewhat quietly. Perhaps it was that strange childlike innocence Shizuru sensed from the mysterious girl that allowed her to share her real name. Perhaps it was the sense of freedom she felt as she slowly drifted away from her place of work that made the utterance of her name so simple. She didn't know, but whatever the reason, she knew things were about to get interesting.


End file.
